Plywood inspires futuristic phone

If you ever looked at a slab of plywood and thought, "I'd love a phone that resembled this," Japan's KDDI has you in mind. Designed by Hideo Kanbara, the conceptual "Ply" would put a different function in each of its six super-thin layers. On the top one, the display; in the next, a keypad; in a third, a printer. It would even crack open to reveal a miniature projector!

Product Page [Kddi via Gizmodo and Cscout]

[#1 posted by Piedmont , August 21, 2008 11:37 AM]

Techeir people than I: How far off is this, really?

[#2 posted by Piedmont , August 21, 2008 11:37 AM]

Techier people than I: How far off is this, really?

[#3 posted by Rob Beschizza , August 21, 2008 11:50 AM]

It depends on the layer. The super-thin screen is about doable (and is completely doable if it's e-ink). The keypad layers are easy, but would be impractically flimsy for something that gets thumb-hammered all day long.

The projector is more possible than it looks, but only if you imagine it to be a really tiny thing hidden behind the optics, with the rest of the wedge being empty space. Anything bigger could simply not coexist with the phone's operation. Its bigger problem is that it would be very low quality and use too much power.

The printer is complete science fiction. See Polaroid's PoGo for the cutting commercial edge of miniature printing: it's bigger than the entire phone.

[#4 posted by Anonymous , August 21, 2008 12:12 PM]

look at all those nooks and crannies for dirt and pocket lint to collect in! in the real world this would get real gross real fast.

[#5 posted by anthropomorphictoast , August 21, 2008 12:31 PM]

I can see the projector, keypad, and camera, but printer? I could see maybe a laser type thing with heat sensitive paper, but photo quality full-color? Nuh-uh. That's a little too Bladerunner for the time being.

[#6 posted by pork musket , August 21, 2008 1:02 PM]

Forget a printer, I want a scanner. I lose all my receipts as is. Better yet, let me pay for things with my phone and get the receipt as email.

[#7 posted by Harrkev , August 21, 2008 1:10 PM]

Well, you would also need bearings and hinges to hold the thing together. If you wanted everything to slide open in synch, you will also need gears (possibly a rack-n-pinion design, ultra-small). I doubt that mere plastic would do for something like this. Since this would likely require machines aluminum, that would drive the price way up.

Cool idea, but undoubtedly priced out of reach of most consumers.

Also, how would you keep dust out? There would be a LOT of gaps in that case.

[#8 posted by Trent Hawkins , August 21, 2008 2:12 PM]

this is kind of really dumb.

Why have numerous super thin layers when you can create one modular thin layer that can slide up, down or left to right with something similar to a video screen touch pad that can project any verity of interactive keys on it?

It's not like a super thin surface will have a more tactile feel to it and you'd be able to make the device thinner and fit more in to it (batteries, camera etc. and printer if indeed you can make one that small).

[#9 posted by muteboy , August 21, 2008 4:32 PM]

I sound like a stuck record, but once again a "design" house has a terrible unnavigable website.

[#10 posted by acb , August 22, 2008 4:44 AM]

It looks like a real-life Wasp T12 SpeechTool. All it needs is scratchable MP3 decks.

[#11 posted by Gilbert Wham , August 25, 2008 1:52 AM]

Yes, I want one.